Verona Murphy (Wexford, Independent)
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434. To ask the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the specific financial supports her Department is making available for charter fleet businesses (details supplied); and if she will make a statement on the matter. [16730/21]

Catherine Martin (Dublin Rathdown, Green Party)
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The July Stimulus and Budget 2021 provided a significant package of tax and fiscal measures to build the resilience of the economy and to help vulnerable but viable businesses across all sectors including the Covid Restrictions Support Scheme (CRSS), the Employment Wage Subsidy Scheme (EWSS) and the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) as well as the ReStart grants and tax warehousing provisions. With specific regard to supports in the tourism sector and for those working in marine tourism, Fáilte Ireland's Covid-19 Adaptation Fund, which was open from August to December 2020, was open to cruise hire companies and to boat tour operators.

Most recently, Fáilte Ireland launched the Tourism Business Continuity Scheme which will provide support to providers of certain tourism services. This includes cruise hire companies and tourism boat tour operators, who have been unable to qualify for assistance under the CRSS. It is designed to help these tourism businesses offset their fixed costs incurred last year and support them to continue operating through 2021. This phase of the scheme closed for applications on 8th March.